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Interviews
Dress nice *A button-up collared shirt with slacks and tie is a must *A suit is recommended *For a "casual interview" dress casual, this does not mean a suit. "Attention to detail" is important. A button-up shirt and nice pants will work well in this situation. *It is okay to be overdressed for an interview (i.e. wearing a suit when everyone else is in jeans), but it is not okay to be under-dressed. Do your homework Find out some information about the company you will be interviewing with. Visit their website and come up with some questions to ask. Know the jobs being offered and what you would like to do at the company. Don't just say "I want a job!" There are many books avaliable that suggest how to answer typical, tricky, questions. Pick one up and read it, it will help you feel more comfortable in the interview. Make sure that you are ready to think on your feet, be prepared with examples of team leadership and problem solving. If the interview will be over the phone, prepare a set of notecards with the points and experiences you want to emphasize. This will help you stay on topic and make sure you cover all the details the interviewer may want to know about you. If you have a Skype interview place your notes up on your screen or have them written out and setup where you can glance at them without being to suspicious about it during the interview. You should also look through the room where you will have the call and have a blank wall behind you so there cannot be anything to distracting. Realize your accomplishments Make a list of projects you have done by yourself or as the head of the project. Make a list of experiences where you were had to demonstrate leadership and organization. List projects where you helped improve anything in a work setting ie. (productivity, sales, customer satisfaction, efficiency). For projects you did by yourself or for group projects where you were not necessarily in a position of leadership, discuss the times you were able to lead yourself by taking the initiative to get things done. Companies want to know what you have done outside of school to improve your professional career. At the Interview Be there at least 10 mins early. This gives you some time to prepare and collect your thoughts. Being there earlier then 15 mins can make you appear desperate. Account for travel time to and from the interview. Some interviews are at the Career Services and others are here at ETRL. Be enthusiastic and show that you have a genuine interest in the specific project or job you are applying for. Be prepared for a technical interview. Example of a technical questions asked in the past during an interview include drawing and labeling a stress strain curve. Some interviews on the other hand are just to see if your personality fits with the company. Just be yourself with these types of interviews because your resume said enough for you to get the interview. Tips *Have a good hand shake *Make eye contact *Dont fiddle with pens or paper while you are talking or listening *Sit-up straight and lean slightly forward to show attentiveness *Have questions. Questions are part of the interview. Often the interviewer asking if you have any questions is a question itself. *Make everything positive! Rather then asking will I have to do shift work, ask if the job is a shift work position. *Practice! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! Sign-up for mock interviews through Career Services, the more practice you get the more comfortable you will be during the real thing. *Bring a padfolio with work samples. Seriously, this is a huge part of self-advertising and greatly contributes to a professional appearance. If you have physical examples, that is even better! Never underestimate the power of the padfolio! Category:Job Search